Stucky One-Shots
by livin-in-my-head
Summary: A collection of my formerly published one-shots and new stories!
1. The Cold

_This was my first Stucky fanfic. Aah, memories... :)_

He was lost.

He had meant to buy a present for Steve, but the different stores led him away from the streets he had memorized, away from the shops he knew. Now, he was lost. When he was young, growing up here, he knew these places like the back of his hand. Now, near eighty years later, he was completely and hopelessly turned around, the city an old friend grown hostile.

Bucky wanted Steve. Steve made everything better. Steve had shown him around the city, explained the beauty of things like the Internet and modern transportation. Bucky knew he was supposed to flag down a taxi, but he didn't have any money. He didn't like to carry it around. Once, when he did, someone had tried to take the money. Everything had gone red, and then Steve had been there, pulling him off the figure that he saw, to his horror, was a teenager.

Bucky went into an alleyway, trying to stop shivering. Ever since he had been frozen for months, years at a time in suspended animation courtesy of Hydra, he had loathed the cold. Now, in NYC on Christmas Eve, without a phone or money, he was abandoned in the cold he hated so much.

Curling up against the cold brick, Bucky wrapped his arms around himself. His metal arm was much colder than the rest of his body and instead of helping to preserve his body heat, sucked it out of him at an attempt to warm itself.

As his shivering got worse and he began to lose feeling in his fingers and toes, Bucky began to slip into the past, something that had been happening more and more frequently with alarming results.

 _"Please don't do it, please don't do it, no!" a woman screamed at the top of her lungs._

 _"Mommy? Mommy, who is that? Mommy!" a little boy wailed, starting to sob._

 _"If you touch my family, I will kill you. I will-" A man's voice sputtered short as a gunshot rang and his wife screamed, clutching their teenage daughter._

 _A dog snarled and nipped at his ankles. He kicked it ruthlessly out of his way and he heard a bone in its body snap with an accompanying howl._

"Make it stop," he moaned into his thin, insufficient coat. "Make the cold stop, Steve."

A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see a familiar face, grinning with relief and joy down at him.

"God, Bucky, you scared me so bad! Buck...?" Steve trailed off as he saw how bad Bucky's condition was. Frowning with worry, he hauled his best friend to his feet and gripped him close. "It's okay, Bucky. It's okay."

"I killed so many people, Steve," Bucky whispered, trying to hold it together. "So many."

"It wasn't your fault. You're a hero, Bucky, for surviving that. For coming back for me."

They both knew it had been Steve who rescued Bucky from a life of crime, but they both kept this fact to themselves. Bucky wanted to believe the healing, reassuring words. He really did.

"Let's go home," Steve murmured into his ear. He retracted himself from Bucky's arms and took hold of his flesh hand, gripping it tightly through his mitten. Warmth began to seep back into Bucky's hand. He smiled gratefully at Steve, taking a deep breath.

"How did you find me?" Bucky asked as Steve expertly navigated through the streets, keeping him close.

"I was worried when I came home and you weren't there, so I went looking for you. I figured you wouldn't go too far out of what you know. I've been searching for a half hour."

"Thank you," Bucky murmured. "Flashbacks..."

Steve knew exactly what he meant and squeezed his hand again.

The apartment building lobby was deliciously warm. Bucky stood still for a moment, drinking in the warmth, before Steve pulled him over to the elevator. They hopped in and were quickly up to their apartment.

"Why don't you get into bed, you're freezing," Steve called over his shoulder as he released Bucky and headed for their tiny kitchen.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll see!"

Bucky shrugged and headed for the single bedroom in the apartment. On his bedside table lay the book he was reading. He hadn't been huge on reading before and during the war, but now he found it relieving to immerse himself in another world instead of the nightmares he faced on a daily basis.

Steve soon came back with two mugs of hot chocolate. Bucky accepted his and took a sip. He felt the burning liquid travel down his frigid innards. "Thanks," he said, taking eager gulps.

Steve settled in next to him, sliding under the covers and opening his book. They read quietly for a little bit. Finally, Bucky set aside his hot chocolate and book. "I'm going to sleep," he told Steve, yawning.

"Me, too," Steve said, immediately placing his bookmark in his book. He always joked about Bucky's barbaric habit of dog-earing his books, and said he considered himself quite more refined.

Bucky reached over and turned off the lamp. "Night."

"Night."

They both settled in. The cold wasn't completely gone from Bucky's body, however, and he began shivering again. He felt off, as if something crucial simply wasn't there.

Probably feeling the shivering, Steve scooted closer to Bucky. Bucky moved to press himself against Steve's warm back and sighed.

All was right with the world. He would get through this hellish phase of his life, as long as Steve was with him.


	2. The Winter Soldier AU

Steve punched the mystery man as hard as he could. This was pointless; they were evenly matched, and this man didn't seem to be tiring.

Not to mention that he had a steel arm that couldn't feel pain.

Okay, so maybe they weren't evenly matched.

In a new burst of energy, Steve drove himself into the man, knocking him back.

The mask clattered to the blood-spotted, bullet shell-covered concrete.

The man turned, and Steve felt his heart stop.

" _Bucky_?"

The man's eyebrows furrowed. "Who the hell is Bucky?"

Before anyone could react, Steve was running forward. Bucky started to raise a fist, expecting more contact, when Steve kissed him.

Steve was almost crying with relief. Bucky was here, Bucky was okay, Bucky was _alive_. He kissed his formerly dead boyfriend harder.

Around them, the battle slowed and then stopped as everyone looked in disbelief at Captain America and the Winter Soldier, who was slowly lowering his fist.

Steve finally broke away and rested his forehead against Bucky's. "What are you doing here?" he whispered to Bucky.

Bucky looked anguished. "I...I can't remember. You're Steve...you're Steve."

Steve felt something break within him. Bucky...didn't remember him?

"Please, Buck, remember," he begged softly. Suddenly, strong hands gripped him from behind and pulled him away from Bucky. Bucky, too, was being restrained by a whole team of armored men. Steve struggled helplessly against the men.

"Let me go!" Bucky yelled. "I know him, I know that man!"

"Be quiet, soldier," one of the men holding him said, pulling out a walkie talkie. "We have a code red, code red. The Winter Soldier was not prepared for the Rogers mission."

Steve was yanked toward a car. He tried to maintain contact with Bucky as long as possible, but soon his head was forced down and he was pushed roughly into the back of the van.

"And to think," Natasha said through her teeth as Sam used the ripped off sleeves from his shirt to stem her bleeding, "I kept trying to hook you up with girls."

"I like them, too," Steve muttered, mind and heart racing. Bucky was alive, and out there somewhere. But he couldn't remember Steve...

"Well then, maybe that poor nurse still has a chance," Natasha hissed as Sam applied more pressure. "Damn, that hurts."

Steve stared at his hands. He didn't know what to do with the information he had just learned.

Well, that was a lie. He knew exactly what he was going to do.

He was going to find Bucky, rescue him, and _make_ him remember his past...his past with Steve.


	3. Hidden in New York

It was a cold night in New York City. In hindsight, Steve thought, perhaps the city Tony Stark kept in his pocket wasn't the best hideout place, unless Iron Man had assumed they had fled as far as possible. Clint had gone home to his family and was expecting to get caught any day now. Sam was out shopping and probably attempting to get Christmas plans together, since it was obvious neither Steve nor Bucky were going to try celebrating.

Although Bucky had been making recoveries, he was still broken. Deeply scarred, and growing increasingly scared of leaving his apartment. Once, Sam, without thinking, had spoken of soldiers with the same phobia, called agoraphobia, that, if left to grow, made the victim terrified of setting foot outside their house. Steve had only kept Bucky from falling headfirst into this phobia by moving them around frequently, unlikely spot to unlikely spot. The more strange and overlooked a town, the better.

Of course, NYC didn't exactly fit any of these requirements, but Steve felt drawn to it. So drawn, in fact, that he had endangered himself and his team, along with encouraging Bucky's phobia, by staying in this hotel for three weeks.

Bucky was sitting on the couch, staring off into the distance. Steve settled beside him after doing his routinely check on the windows and doors. Luckily, the cheap apartment room only had one small window and two doors, one leading into the room next door that either remained unoccupied or seldom used.

"Hey, Bucky," Steve said gently, resting a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Are...are you okay?" He regretted the question instantly. Of course Bucky wasn't okay-one look told him that.

Bucky was quiet for a moment, finally snapping back into focus and meeting Steve's worried gaze. "You distracted me," he whispered. "Every time I was sent after you, you distracted me from killing you. Because I couldn't remember who you were or who I was. I just knew how badly I wanted to kiss you?"

Steve barely had time to ask, "What?" before Bucky was on him, pressing his lips furiously and desperately to his. Steve tensed up and then relaxed, running his fingers through Bucky's hair.

Everyone assumed Captain America and the Winter Soldier had been nothing more than close childhood friends. Steve smiled against Bucky's lips at the thought. How foolish.

The door opened and the two men ripped apart. Steve's face was flushed. Bucky, on the other hand, looked calmer than he had for days as he stared at his shoes.

Sam furrowed his brow as his gaze drifted from his best friend to the man that he had risked his life to save. "Make sense now," he said easily, dropping groceries on the counter and turning to hide a grin.


	4. The Puppy

Steve rubbed his neck as he walked down the hallway to Bucky and his apartment. It had been another long day. He had bought more groceries using some of his depleting money and visited Sam to make sure he was doing okay in his apartment a few streets over. They had decided to not all live together-it would raise too many eyebrows. Plus, the place where Sam was currently living was much more heavily regulated. He had had to create a fake ID and everything. Where Steve and Bucky were, as long as you were quiet and had a little money, you were left alone. Or mugged. Steve pitied the fool that had tried to pull that one on Bucky a few nights ago.

He opened the door and, locking it behind him, called out softly, "I'm home-"

A small ball of fur barreled around the corner and into his legs, barking madly.

Steve dropped the groceries on the floor and removed his baseball cap, running a hand through his hair. "Bucky."

Bucky came trotting sheepishly around the corner, dressed in a tank top and pajama bottoms. His new metallic arm from the king of Wakanda gleamed in the sunlight filtering through the window as he picked up the mangy-looking puppy and bit his lip.

"What the hell is _that_ , Bucky?" Steve demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at the puppy, who yipped happily.

"Listen, Steve, he was so cute and friendly, and he was just on the side of the street, and he was chained up but there was a note in his collar saying his owner wasn't coming back-"

"Bucky, we're running low on money as it is-"

"We can't give him to a pound, they'll kill him!"

Steve sighed, again running a hand through his hair. "For God's sake-"

Bucky smiled adorably, sensing Steve's breaking point. Steve melted.

"Fine. But you're taking care of him." He grinned and picked up the groceries, walking into the kitchenette to put them away. Bucky heard a curse and then, "Dammit, Bucky, he made me break the eggs!"

That night, the puppy was whining, scratching at the door. Steve was getting more and more annoyed and Bucky wasn't sure what to do.

"Just-let's take him out and see if he needs to go to the bathroom, or something," Steve growled finally.

"I...don't have a leash," Bucky murmured.

Steve picked up the puppy and strode over to their balcony. He held the puppy over the potted plant and grimaced. "What made you think this was a good idea?" he called back to Bucky.

When he turned around, Bucky was looking so lost that he instantly felt bad. He placed the puppy carefully in his boyfriend's arms and kissed Bucky's forehead. "I'm sorry. It's just been a long day."

The puppy, for one thing, didn't take up much room. He lay on his back in between the two men, snoring slightly.

Steve and Bucky lay, foreheads pressed together, Bucky idly stroking the dog's stomach. "He is pretty cute," Steve admitted finally. Bucky smiled and closed his eyes, and slowly, the family drifted off to sleep.


	5. Observing

**Dedicated to BelieveInTheHoundsOfJustice60 because they requested an update :) I don't know if you'll be so into this one because it's from Sam's point of view and a slightly different style than the others, but I had fun writing it!**

Sam Wilson was not a stupid man.

After all, he had been chosen by the military to partake in a top-secret project, the likes of which had never been seen before. He had street smarts, book smarts, and just about all the kinds of smarts in between.

So Steve and Bucky were the stupid ones, thinking they could hide it from him.

He noticed when they sat close together at the breakfast table, their arms disappearing under the table, where they were surely holding hands.

He noticed when Steve smiled so gently at Bucky when the other man wasn't looking.

He noticed when Bucky searched Steve's face as if asking, _How did I get so lucky?_ when Steve was distracted.

He noticed when the men had a movie night without him and only used one blanket.

Truth be told, Sam was thrilled for both of them. Being Steve's best friend, he had seen firsthand all of the shit that the superhero went through pretty much daily. Hell, he had been on the _receiving_ end of a lot of that shit.

And while he held no fondness for the former Winter Soldier, after hearing his side of the story, Sam did have to admit that the man had been wronged more times than anyone deserved.

So why wouldn't both men deserve each other?

And sure, sometimes, Sam felt like a third wheel. It was hard not to in this situation. But he knew his role. It was to be a best friend for Steve and to teasingly pick on Bucky like they were brothers. It was to give them both a sense of family, so they each had someone to fall back on when they would inevitably trip.

For now, however, Sam simply watched as the men discreetly held hands and stared at each other and shared blankets. He watched, and he waited for the day when he would officially be privy to their "secret."


	6. Goodbye NOT A STORY

Well, this is it - goodbye.

I'm officially moving over to Ao3, which, if you didn't know, is Archive of our Own, a fanfiction website that (I'm sorry to say) has a little more prestige than . Don't get me wrong - I've loved writing here, but I want to experiment with Ao3 as well. I have researched the pros and cons to both websites and may still use this one to read occasionally, but I've already discovered better fanfics over there in a shorter amount of time than over here.

If you want to check me out on Ao3, my username is livin_in_my_head_2.

And who knows? Maybe Ao3 won't work out and I'll be back here in a few weeks. For now, however, just assume that this account will be going mostly dormant. Thank you so so so so much to anyone who has ever supported this book, and I hope that you continue to explore fanfiction and maybe write some of your own!


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